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Brandi Morrison, owner of Cash N More Pawn and Jewelry with her husband, Michael Morrison, said they are considering closing the doors to the business and dealing with individual customers individually or at curb side.(Photo: TORIN HALSEY/TIMES RECORD NEWS)

Gun, ammunition shortage is unprecedented

It’s not just a trend unique to Wichita Falls.

Ammo.com, an online ammunition dealer, reports a 434 percent increase in sales over the past month. Last week, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, an industry trade association, told its members that the FBI saw a 300 percent increase in requests for background checks through its National Instant Criminal Background Check System on Monday, March 16.

“There’s no doubt about it, people are panicked.”

Michael Morrison, Cash N More Pawn & Jewelry owner

In the past few weeks, Morrison said he has had several people pay back their loans early in order to repossess their firearms, which had been put up as collateral. They’re joined by new buyers, who are looking for something to protect themselves as uncertainty sets in.

Morrison said he hasn’t seen anything like it since the start of the decade, when a surge in gun sales, spurred by fears of stricter regulations at the federal level, led to a wave of shortages that spanned a period of several years. But the time frame in which this wave occurred is unprecedented, putting strain all over the industry.

“This has all happened in a month, maybe even three weeks,” he said. “It’s cleaned out the distribution channels.”

First-time gun buyers

When it comes to first-time buyers, both pawn shops are seeing an influx of women, many of whom are looking for their first handgun. That’s a trend that started within the past few years but has increased in the past few weeks.

Morrison is doing his best to give first-time buyers input as they try to figure out which handgun is the right one for them. He wants to make sure customers are set up for success after their purchase.

“We want to make sure that they understand what they are getting,” he said, “that they’re getting one not just because it looks cool. It’s something that fits good in their hand."

While business at Cash N More is booming, Morrison has taken precautions to limit the spread of coronavirus within his store. After the recent influx of cases last week, he is allowing just five people in the store at one time.

Morrison said that he doesn’t expect the current trend to continue. While the shortages in the earlier part of the decade lasted for years, he thinks that the driving force behind this one, a viral pandemic, means it won’t last for more than a few months.

Until then, it'll be a long few weeks for Brandi and Michael Morrison.

“People are in panic mode," he said. "We're getting a few more cases of the virus and it's going to get worse. But my mindset would be another two months, we'll start coming out on the other end and it will start to slow back down a bit."